Source

Organization information

Macalester College (commonly called "Mac" by those affiliated with the college) is a privately supported, coeducational liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 as a Presbyterian-affiliated but nonsectarian college. Its first class entered September 15, 1885. The college is located on a 53-acre (214,000 square meters) campus in a historic residential neighborhood and includes seven academic buildings, ten residences, a library, and a technology center. Famous alumni include Bob Mould, Kofi Annan, Walter Mondale,Jeremy Allaire, DeWitt Wallace, and Tim O'Brien. Macalester enrolls approximately 1,800 undergraduate students.

Design rationale

Macalester’s red shield was introduced in the 1990s, but its origins go back to the college’s Presbyterian and Scottish roots.

In Scotland, each family “clan” has its own official tartan, and Mac has one, too. For decades, the college used a red plaid shield as its logo.

The current shield is rooted in this tradition but is forward-looking and open. If you look, you can see in it the streets of our city, the crossroads of the world, and the strands that make up the fabric of the Macalester community.